


A Dispute With the Gods Themselves

by LatteWolf



Series: Warren Kepler and Daniel Jacobi: Flashes in Time [3]
Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Character Study, Cutter being Cutter, Internal Conflict, M/M, Minor Violence, POV Third Person Limited, Pre-Canon, Swearing, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Warren Kepler being a repressed little bitch, Warren Kepler-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:01:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22218976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LatteWolf/pseuds/LatteWolf
Summary: Marcus Cutter happens to be in town and requests a meeting with Kepler to talk about an issue centering around a certain employee.Kepler isn't known for his great emotional intelligence.
Relationships: Daniel Jacobi/Warren Kepler
Series: Warren Kepler and Daniel Jacobi: Flashes in Time [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1575169
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	A Dispute With the Gods Themselves

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place earliest in this series. Basically I see their timeline working together as  
> 1\. Start off rocky  
> 2\. Start to trust each other  
> 3\. Bang  
> 4\. Get too close, Kepler is an asshole  
> 5\. Get rocky again  
> And the W359 mission is the tipping point where things fall apart.  
> Betaed by my sibling @CumuloSirius

Cutter's out-of-state temporary offices were always cold, grandiose places that Warren Kepler spent every waking moment praying he could avoid just one day more.

He didn't pray enough.

Cutter often felt it necessary to arrange surprise meetings with various agents of his. When asked why, he would always respond along the lines of, "If you weren't ready for it, that's exactly why we need it."

Kepler has been working for the man this long and he still hasn't deciphered his twisted reasoning behind it. He could understand the motive for about fifty percent of what comes out of his boss's mouth on a good day.

That day was a disappointingly good day.

“How is my favorite field agent today?” Cutter asked patronizingly, legs crossed on an Italian leather chair. 

“As good as one can be after being summoned against his will during a long term operation,” Kepler replied.

“I happened to be in the neighborhood! Delightful city… wherever it is we are. Anyways, I want to preface this meeting by saying we're not going to be discussing you today,” Cutter said.

“Oh?”

“Yes, I wanted to… inquire about another employee. One you're quite closely affiliated with,” Cutter says, folding his hands into a neat steeple over his lap, “An employee by the name of Daniel Jacobi, ballistics specialist? Your partner in the field?”

Cutter knew he knew exactly who he was talking about. So, Cutter was going to play douche today.

When has Cutter ever not played douche?

“Of course,” Kepler said warily.

“Well, I want to terminate him from Goddard Futuristics,” Cutter said.

…

He couldn't be serious.

“What? He's only been with us for a month, isn't that… perfunctory of you?” Kepler asked.

“That's just it- it's only been a month and Jacobi has already managed to exude an aura of instability,” Cutter said.

“Let's not play pretend here, sir; Goddard is about as corrupt as they come, everyone here is unstable,” Kepler said. 

“See, I wouldn't have had a problem with it if it didn't interfere with his work. It has, though. Jacobi has been consistently late, sloppy, and reckless since he first started,” Cutter said.

“Sir, doing this would be a mistake, I can vouch for Jacobi, he's been a lifesaver out in missions, he's irreplaceable,” Kepler protested. He started raising his voice in annoyance, grating his teeth to steady himself. *You're not getting worked up,* Kepler thought to himself,  _ not over this, not in front of him. _

“Listen, Major, I'm the highest authority on decisions like these, and I've already filed the paperwork. I just wanted to inform you so Jacobi doesn't feel the need to sleep in your hotel room for one night longer than necessary,” Cutter almost sneers at him in contempt.

“Please, sir, you know I never ask anything of you, just don't fire Jacobi. He's... He's a valuable asset to our team,” Kepler all but pleads, trying not to seem too pathetic. 

“Yes, I'm aware that he's grown on you, but your new puppy is troubled Warren. I'm sending it back to the pound. There will be no-”

“ _ Don't. _ ”

The word slipped out before Kepler could stop it.

“I'm sorry?” Cutter asked, eyes narrowed. 

Kepler saw the look of bewilderment, wide-eyed, as if he had stepped before the throne of the mighty Zeus and spat at his feet. Kepler's only thought was, ' _Fuck this.'_

“Don't talk about him like he's some goddamned object you depraved, pretentious, absolute fucking  _ degenerate _ . Jacobi is my partner, and I swear to God if you fire him, then you can count on losing me too!”

Cutter's eyes went wide as he looked towards Kepler with an incredulous stare, mouth opening and closing as if to try and speak.

Then, Cutter just started laughing.

Cutter was  _ really _ laughing.

Kepler stopped dead in his tracks and looked back in confusion, caught halfway in a glare.

“What? What's so fucking hilarious?!” Kepler yelled, almost hysterical.

“You're right!” Cutter said, miming wiping a tear from his eye.

“I'm- what?”

“You  _ are _ unstable. You're- hah- you're obsessed with him, aren't you?” Cutter asked. Kepler angrily opened his mouth to start to go off, to argue. Kepler also realized that it would only serve to allege himself further. All he had to do to get out of this was crack out the thesaurus, politely apologize, and lick Cutter's boots, and he'd go back to his cozy little state of putting on a facade of stern apathy. Kepler knew this anger was going to sabotage him, that he had to focus on his priorities and not lose his job over this.

_ Over him? _

Kepler stood for a half-second and thought of Jacobi, waiting for him in their hotel room that he so desperately wanted to return to. Kepler thought of how he ached to hear him speak, watch him move, see him there, only to leave him and build up the ache again. He wanted to toy with him, watch him struggle, watch him live and breathe, knowing it was under his influence. Kepler thought of how much…

__

_ Cutter's right? He’s... _

_ Obsessed? _

He rejected t he thought before it could finish.

At that moment, Kepler decided he didn't have to be in a room with Marcus, "your soul belongs to me," Cutter. Fuck his job. Fuck Cutter. Fuck everything telling him he's wrong.

‘ _ I know who I am.’ _

“Fuck this. I'm leaving,” Kepler yelled, throwing his hands up and moving towards the door.

“Back to your hourly rate motel 6? Lovely. Enjoy their twenty-minute room deal, Warren. I doubt you'll need all that extra time, though,” Cutter said with a shit-eating grin. Kepler grunted, not stopping.

“Make sure you don't break him, you know, if you haven't ripped off the tags already. Don't worry, I kept the receipt, when I return him I'll make sure to ask customer services-” Cutter was interrupted by Kepler's fist crashing into his face, blinking quickly as he looked up at Kepler with his now dripping red smile. Kepler’s brain short-circuited, having finally caught up with his actions. He stared at his fist in disbelief, reality detaching from him as he flexed his fingers. The stinging of his split knuckles was a drowned out phantom of pain not quite having reached him.

Kepler was a man accustomed to violence; it was like white-noise to him. Using force was second-nature, nothing should be surprising anymore. He still felt a voice deep within bombarding him with panic, screaming that something was terribly wrong. 

The implications of what Kepler has done collided with him all at once, and he felt himself turn away towards the door mechanically.

“Jacobi… doesn't need to worry. His position is secure.”

When the voice behind him registered, he froze. But as much as Kepler would have liked to sit and ask a billion questions, he figured he should go before he did something else incredibly stupid. He tried his best not to slam the door behind him as he left Cutter alone in the cold, quiet office, feeling numb.

“Rachel?” Cutter asked, opening his blazer slightly and leaning into his wire discreetly.

“Yes, sir?” Young's voice cut through static.

“Remove my termination request for Daniel Jacobi, please,” Cutter said.

“Sir… are you sure?”

“More than anything. I almost didn't believe you when you told me about them, but this... This is going to be entertaining,” Cutter said with a sigh.

  
  


\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, where did you go there? Did you just black out for a sec?” Jacobi asks, resting his hand on Kepler's shoulder.

Kepler snaps back to reality, shifting his head to look at Jacobi behind him.

“It’s not important. What did you say?” Kepler says, cautiously placing a hand over his.

“I said if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were obsessed with me,” Jacobi says with a chuckle.

Kepler looks distant as he thumbs over Jacobi's hand, running over his knuckles, not giving any other response.

“That… was a joke,” Jacobi says, his eyebrows creasing slightly with concern, “It's kind of late. We should probably go to sleep.”

Jacobi feels Kepler nod in front of him, so he pulls the covers up over them and drapes his arms over Kepler. It's weirdly domestic and warm for them. This whole night has been to close, too comfortable; it's made the both of them almost afraid. Of course, neither wanted to admit it.

Jacobi figures it had been enough time.

"I know this… thing… Its rushed, and probably a little unhealthy, but... I like it when it's not completely…"

“Casual?” Kepler added.

“Yeah. I, um… I like this. It's nice,” Jacobi said cautiously.

Kepler places his hand over Jacobi's again, moving down delicately. He runs his fingers around to feel for his wrist, sensing the rapid pulsing under his fingertips. Kepler didn't want this to be real. He doesn't want to think about what it meant; about him, about them, about his humanity. He doesn't think he had any of that left. Kepler doesn't want there to be. Life is more comfortable that way; less unsure.

Kepler isn't used to being thrown into something new, but something in him wants to try. Still, he can’t shake that voice that screams like an alarm when Jacobi is around him.

So, he can't help but do what he does best.

“I have to go,” Kepler says, springing up and throwing off the blankets.

“What? Where are you going at two in the morning?” Jacobi asks, sitting up against the headboard in a stupor.

“Somewhere, it doesn't matter,” Kepler says, grabbing his coat off the floor and digging inside for the rental's keys.

“Do you not want to stay?” Jacobi asks behind him. Kepler can't see his face, but he can hear the waver in Jacobi's voice.

Kepler doesn't respond. Kepler doesn't stop.

Kepler unlocks the deadbolt and walks out without a word, leaving Jacobi in the pile of covers and the door open to the cold.

_ ‘I know who I am.’ _

**Author's Note:**

> This one delves a little into Kepler's mind early in their relationship because I wanted to elaborate on the mask that he puts up to make himself seem unfeeling and intimidating. In a text chain with my sibling, I put it as: "His entire personality is a facade that he believes makes him stronger and a better more effective leader, but he's really just internalizing his issues and trying to protect himself." Kepler is in an environment (and probably has always been) where he can only survive by being this ideal apathetic version of himself. Daniel is the only person he's met who doesn't hold himself to that standard at Goddard and rather rejects it entirely. (Do I attribute this to him being intersex/trans in my headcanon? Yes. Am I projecting? Totally)  
> I like envisioning Kepler deep down as a very vulnerable person because it honestly makes a lot of things make a lot of sense in my head about him.  
> Anyway kthxbye.


End file.
